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Letter
Cost-Effective Screening for
Trichomoniasis—Reply to Dr. Schwebke
Read original
article, http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol7no6/sorvillo.htm
Read Dr.
Schwebke's letter, http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol8no7/01-0543.htm
To the Editor: We welcome Dr. Schwebke’s thoughtful comments
about decreasing the cost of screening for Trichomonas vaginalis.
Dr. Schwebke and her colleagues have demonstrated that storing a vaginal
swab for 15–20 minutes in a glass tube at room temperature does not affect
the viability of T. vaginalis or reduce the sensitivity of subsequent
culture. This finding shows that vaginal swabs may be stored briefly while
a wet-mount preparation is made and examined. If the wet mount is negative
for T. vaginalis, the stored swab can then be processed for culture.
If the wet mount is positive for T. vaginalis, no further culture
of the specimen is needed, thereby reducing unnecessary costs. Given
that the prevalence of this infection often exceeds 20% in high-risk populations,
this approach can reduce costs substantially without compromising the
accuracy of the tests. Any method that reduces the cost of diagnosis will
advance further screening for trichomoniasis and promote the ultimate
goal of implementing intervention efforts.
Frank Sorvillo,*† Lisa Smith,*† and Peter Kerndt†
*University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California,
USA; and †Department of Health Services, Los Angeles County, Los Angeles,
California, USA
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